It’s 48 hours before I leave for my trip to the UK when I realize that my passport expired the previous year during the Pandemic. Oh no!
To make matters worse, it’s Easter Sunday evening and there’s nothing I can do until the following morning when passport agencies open their doors. Between my panic and tears, John does some research. If I can get to Seattle the next morning by 7am, there’s a small chance their Passport Agency can help me.
I book a 530am ticket to Seattle, feverishly pack my bags for my UK trip, and try to simmer my mind for a couple of hours of sleep. I frantically call upon my angels to work their magic. Please help me, angels. I must get to the UK where about 20 lovely women are expecting me to co-lead them through a soul business retreat.
Around 1230am, barely awake, I have an urgent intuition to check on my UK flights that are scheduled to leave the next day. To my horror and shock, my flight was inexplicably….gone. I put in the confirmation number only to be met with an error message about the flight not existing.
More heart sinking, stomach dropping panic.
I call the airline (Virgin Atlantic) where I’m certain the kindest and loveliest travel agent on the planet greets me with steady and assuring vibes. She says, “Darling, I got you, it’s going to be ok,” and I relax. She has to change all sorts of things around, but she calls me two hours later at 2:30 am with confirmation that I indeed have a seat on the plane to the UK the following day.
Kindness changes everything.
Now I just need to get to Seattle and hopefully get my passport renewed in 24 hours. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but my body and spirit begin to surrender and activate my deepest Trust muscles.
I make it to the Seattle Passport Agency by 7am. Again, the kindest, most steady manager of a Federal Agency I’ve ever seen/met assures me that yes, if I have all the correct documentation (and I do), I’ll be able to get my passport renewed that same day. For the next hour, I interact with various people at the passport agency, all of them soothing, calm, and even joyful that they can help me and the others who have arrived in a panic. I cannot believe my luck.
Kindness changes everything.
It’s 9am when I leave the Passport Agency. I am barely functioning, having slept maybe an hour. I go to the nearest hotel, The Paramount, where I’m greeted AGAIN with the kindest, warmest hospitality director. She not only gives me a great deal on a room, but she insists I check in 7 hours before their usual check-in time. She knows I need the rest.
Kindness changes everything.
I sleep hours in that cozy bed, again hardly believing my luck. The next day, I board my flight to the UK with a renewed passport and a renewed gratitude for the kindness of strangers as well as my angels who I’m certain were working their magic behind the scenes.
Here’s to encountering strangers along our paths who put us at ease, who not only help us, but who find joy in helping us. Their kindness, well, it changes everything.
I am so grateful.
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